Get the 7D if you can swing it. Why?1. Better camera with better ergonomics (especially with a heavy 2.8L zoom), comparable sensor, much better AF and metering, FPS, sturdier, 100% viewfinder- everything except the tilt-screen and video compatibility with STM lenses.2. Resale value on 7D will be better than the T4i, especially with the newer 700D in the sidelines. The 7D is only $ 1200 new at the moment, which is really good price.3. Allows you to wait for an upgrade with arguably the best APS-C camera ever built until the 7DII comes down in price some.

I sold my perfect 7D 2YO with less that 20k clicks on it for £600 on ebay just before christmas. Was pretty disapointed actually thought it would fetch more. But never mind.

They offer insane value for money, also the cheaper bodies perform similar IQ wise but have non of the features the 7D has. Its a great camera, just the IQ wasn't quite what I was after.

You can also be quite confident in buying a used 7D as they are built like tanks.

I also wouldn't marry a crop camera with a 24-70 or 24-105, 24mm is far to tele on a crop camera more like 38mm so you dont get much on the wide end. I would suggest buying a 17-55mm or 15-85mm if you are going to stick with APC which it sounds like you are with waiting for the 7DMKII

Even when the 7DMKII comes out the price of the 7D cant fall much lower or it will be a better buy than the newer XXXDs as IQ is so similar and its a much better camera overall. The 650D saw no improvement in IQ infact some reviewers have said it has more noise than its predecessors.

I agree with everyone. B&H has refurb 7Ds in stock for 999, I'm pretty sure. I bought a refurb a few months ago and have no regrets- it's a great camera, not the IQ of FF but easily enough to make me very happy with the pictures I'm getting. I do plan on buying a 7d2 if the DR/noise above ISO 1600 are much improved, but I will certainly keep my current 7d, rather than sell it, because its still a great camera and then I can have my 17-55 mounted to one body, and 70-200 on the other!

I wouldn't think twice about getting the 7D over the 60D. I've had both and once I got the 7D, I was shed of the 60d within 48 hours and never looked back.

That being said, I bought a new 5d3 a couple months ago with every intention of selling the 7D. 2.5 months later, I still have the 7D and no longer have any intention of selling it.

The 7D is a fantastic camera and still very relevant in the Canon lineup. The 7d is a great match up with any of the EF lenses, especially L glass. The 24-70mm is fantastic on the 7D, it's only not wide enough if all you shoot is wide... If so, it's still a great walk around lens. The 17-55mm lens is fantastic on the 7D and the mid range and long lenses are incredible...

Jump on a 7D, whether new or used it's still a great buy and you'll be very, very happy with it!

The 7D is a fantastic camera and still very relevant in the Canon lineup. The 7d is a great match up with any of the EF lenses, especially L glass. The 24-70mm is fantastic on the 7D, it's only not wide enough if all you shoot is wide... If so, it's still a great walk around lens. The 17-55mm lens is fantastic on the 7D and the mid range and long lenses are incredible...

+1I had the 1DIIN and the 24-105. Bought the 7D and the 15-85. Sold the 1DIIN and the 24-105. Bought the 17-55. Sold the 15-85. If I had only one lens, it would be the 15-85. Since I have the 100mm macro and 77mm filters, I kept the 17-55. I does miss the 15mm end though.

I guess the bigger questions is... what do you need it for? Do you need the extra fps or the extra weather proofing or heavy duty frame? Or are you just looking primarily at IQ?

Personally... I started with the T2i. I really can see any reason to upgrade it to T3i or T4i... I later bought the 5D Mark II. I use the 5D II 90% of the time... but the T2i is great when I need a smaller camera to carry around... and I wouldn't get rid of it until I find something to replace it. The T2i is also a great backup for my uses.

So... if you don't need the faster FPS or the heavy duty alloy frame or superior weather sealing... and... if you don't need the articulating screen (t3i and t4i)... then save a little extra and go with the T2i. If you do want all that stuff... the definitly go with the 7D... and hunt for a good sale. I personally wouldn't buy used... but that's where you'd find your best bargains.

Thank you for all the great feedback. I think I might just pull the trigger on the 7D based on this thread. My primary use case will be my kids sports. Baseball, Football and Soccer.

Well I'd go 7D instead of rebel then, although I was never as impressed for 7D for soccer as I had hoped (actually felt the 5D2 center point with helpers with more trustworthy overall and the 5D3 is clearly better, I quickly gave up on the 7D the two times I tried shooting soccer when I had both 7D and 5D3 with me and went all 5D3). Had GREAT results with 7D AF for surfing though about as good as the 5D3 even and much better than 5D2 or xxD or Rebels. It also did pretty well for focusing on birds jumping around in trees and such. Having MFA helps a lot since for sports you really want the lenses 100% fine tuned to the body, last thing you want is tons more soft pics due to poor calibration on top. You also get a lot more fps, much bigger buffer, quicker trigger reaction, more handy on the fly user interface.

Hopefully you realize that a 24-70 would be woeful for baseball and soccer.And it's not very wide on APS-C for other stuff, I often recommend Tamron 17-50 2.8 non-VC, athough since you mention basketball you probably do want something with ultra fast AF so I guess canon 17-55 IS would make more sense or maybe better in this one case the 24-70 2.8 (I wonder if the new tamron 24-70 VC has AF up to handling basketball or not though. The 28-75 2.8 certainly not and not quite ideally the 17-50 2.8 either).

You need something wayy longer for baseball and soccer. Day games or do expect to try for night soccer and baseball?

At this point since the 7D2 will be coming I'd get a used 7D and wouldn't pay new price or even refurb price and then you can sell it for a lot less loss if the 7D2 arrives late this fall or something and I bet the new 7D2 might cost even more than the 7D originally did so the money saved might help. If the 7D2 ends up with 5D3 AF it should be noticeably better than the 7D, if we are lucky it might have a sensor that has better low ISO DR too.